Reporting a Food Safety Problem

Report a Food Safety Problem

Report it

If you have a complaint about food or a food business then you can report this using our online form.

What can I report?

Misleading or incorrect food product labelling
Physical condition of a food business
Poor hygiene / Food handling practices in a food business
Problem with food
Suspected food poisoning (N.B. if you suspect food poisoning it is strongly recommended that you contact your GP to arrange to submit a stool sample)
Suspected pest activity in a food business
Other type of food safety problem

What information do I need to provide?

In order to investigate the matter it would be helpful if you could provide the following information:

The name and address of the food business involved;
The type of food which is the subject of your complaint;
The date and time you bought the food or visited the premises;
Details of any witnesses
Brief details of the complaint;
Whether there was any illness associated with your visit to the premises. (Details of symptoms and dates of birth of persons affected may also be sought); and
Your name, address and daytime telephone number.

How will we respond to this complaint?

An officer will contact you to discuss the complaint.

In the meantime you should:-

Reseal the food and store in the fridge or freezer as appropriate;
Leave any foreign body discovered in the food - do not tamper with the product;
Keep the food in its original container;
Keep all packaging and labelling; and
Keep your receipt as proof of purchase.

Where it is necessary to have food formally examined or analysed, this can take some time and our investigation response may be delayed. In some cases the complaint has to be referred to another local authority or we may require to correspond with the manufacturer.

We will advise you what we intend to do and will estimate how long this may take.

The officer dealing with the complaint will give you their name and telephone number to ensure that you can keep in touch.

What course of action will we take?

The action we take depends on a variety of factors. It is our remit to help protect public health by ensuring that food on offer to the public is safe to eat. Therefore our primary aim is to resolve any issues and prevent a recurrence of the incident.

You will be advised of the outcome of the complaint on completion of the investigation.

Will we be able to claim compensation on my behalf?

It is not the remit of Environmental Health to seek compensation on your behalf and we are not able to advise on whether compensation may be appropriate as this is a civil law matter.

Should you wish to pursue a civil course of action then you should contact the manufacturer/producer directly or seek legal advice.